Bermuda's prison population is indicative of a society that is greedy and overwhelmed with the pursuit of material wealth, Bermuda's prison chief has charged.

And Prisons Commissioner Lt. Col. Eddie Lamb told the Hamilton Rotary Club's weekly luncheon that society has lost track of the real purpose of life.

He said this is happening while the family structure is disintegrating and the community cannot stand by and entrust the Government alone to take action.

"Too often in Bermuda the pursuit of material wealth overwhelms the value of people wealth. We have become a very materialistic, greedy and ostentatious society.

"And in so doing, have lost the real value of life — our people. Our children are being neglected and abused while we consume more and more.

"Our families are disintegrating while we acquire more things but have less meaning in our lives. All of these factors combine to produce people who are susceptible to the anti-social influences out there."

He described the Department of Corrections as a "caring" facility for those that have fallen astray.

Currently, the Department has nearly 240 employees consisting of both uniformed and non-uniformed staff and with more than 240 inmates.

"I have developed a tremendous respect for the staff in corrections. I believe they, along with the Police, are the unheralded heroes in our village.

"Among our members, are highly-dedicated, honourable and capable people and the entire corrections team contribute to the overall well-being in our community."

However, Lt. Col. Lamb could not be specific when explaining how drugs are making it into the prison population when asked by a Rotary Club member.

"Well, (the) creativity of people is amazing," he responded, "and there are no plans that can be 100 percent foolproof; we do a fantastic job in keeping out a lot of drugs.

"Daily, we have cell searches, K-9 units and we do a fantastic job in keeping the vast majority of the drugs out but no plan is 100 percent."

"But then how do the prisoners pay for the drugs?" the unidentified member followed up. "It wouldn't come in for free wouldn't it?"

Lt. Col. Lamb replied: "That's a different world."